- africanlegalstudies.blog

Colonial looted art – a long way home
According to the 2018 report “Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics” by Senegalese academic and writer Felwine Sarr and French art historian Bénédicte Savoy, almost the entirety of the material heritage of sub-Saharan Africa is located outside the African continent.[1] A large number of these art objects were brought to Europe…
Germany’s obligation under international law to make reparation payments to the Ovaherero for genocide
It is almost unanimously agreed upon that between 1904 and 1908 the German Empire committed genocide after today’s understanding (in the following “genocide”)[1] against the ethnic groups of Ovaherero and Nama in what today is Namibia,[2] as approximately 60,000 to 100,000 people – 80 % of the Ovaherero and 60 % of the Nama population…
“We exist!” – Fighting homophobia in Tunisia: changing the laws and changing mentalities
OPINION Sifa 16 September 2022 Beginning of Queer visibility In 2011, the Tunisian people overthrew the regime of the despotic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his familial clan through popular uprising. In addition to this macro-level change, the revolution opened opportunities and spaces for challenging multiple oppressions in everyday life. For example, the…

Effects of Covid on Human Trafficking in Africa with a special focus on sex trafficking
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed many victims in the last three years. Hundreds of thousands of people died and millions lost their livelihoods which pushed as many as 124 million more people into extreme poverty globally.[1] While the major effort of most governments was aimed at breaking chains of infection to protect the population from…
Observations around the decision of the Supreme Court of Kenya allowing the registration of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
News from Kenya Around ten years ago, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) was refused permission to apply for registration as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) by the NGO Coordination Board. Apparently, the proposed name of the organisation was contrary to Sections 162, 163 and 165 of the Kenyan Penal Code which criminalise…
Should we let children work? Reflections from the field
While preparing for my fieldwork on climate change-induced child labour in Malawi, my preliminary research participants revealed that there is no literal translation of the phrase “child labour” in Chichewa, Tumbuka, or Sena. These are the vernacular languages common in the particular areas of the three regions of Malawi where I was planning to conduct…

Electioneering Period and the LGBTQI+ Vote in Kenya
Kenya’s general election is slowly gearing up, with the elections slated for 9th August 2022. Any electioneering period in the country has always been marred with cases of violence, and members of the LGBTQI+ community have been victims of the violence. The political environment of hostility and violence has unfortunately enabled homophobes to act on…
On a difficult mission – Somalia elects Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president
COMMENT René Brosius 10 June 2022 In the evening of 8 February 2017, it was clear: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed also known as “Farmaajo” is Somalia’s 9th president. People in Mogadishu were excited, the streets were filled with joyous pedestrians that were celebrating the feeling of hope which Farmaajo represented. There was no feeling of fear,…
Light and Shadow in Somalia – How Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a and the Elections are Connected
ANALYSIS René Brosius 12 November 2021 The latest news from Somalia could not be contradictory. On the one hand, the first democratic “one person, one vote” elections since 1969 took place in Puntland, the semi-autonomous state in north-eastern Somalia, on 25 October 2021; on the other hand, there was bloody fighting in central Somalia. Admittedly,…

CONSTITUTIONAL

Litigating Reparations: Will Namibia be Setting Standards?
Note: This piece was first published on voelkerrechtsblog.org. We thank the team and the author for the possibility to re-published the article here. Throughout the world, indigenous populations are in a renewed push, demanding reparations from former colonial powers. On 19 January 2023, the Namibian lawyer Patrick Kauta filed an application to the Namibian High…
Constitutionalism in a Time of Corona
COMMENT Prof. Dr Thoko Kaime 26 February 2021 Constitutionalism, the idea that officials must necessarily be circumscribed by institutions that restrict the exercise of state power; continues to face tremendous pressure across African jurisdictions as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the Continent. As the imperative to protect lives underlines many a government’s response, it…
The Right to Vote for Everyone?
ANALYSIS Melanie Schwarzfischer 19 February 2021 In Zambia every citizen over the age of eighteen years has the right to vote, unless he or she is explicitly disqualified by Parliament (Article 75 (1) of the Constitution). However, not every citizen has equal opportunities to conduct their votes. Especially people with disabilities are disadvantaged because of…